Epsom · online by video, with the Hove room for occasional sessions
Trauma therapy for Epsom
Something frightening may be over on paper and still running your days in Epsom: in your sleep, in the roads you avoid, in how quickly you go on guard. Trauma counselling lets you approach it gradually, with you deciding how close we get. You never have to describe what happened, and we work by secure video from somewhere you feel safe.
If you are thinking about ending your life, call 999 or the Samaritans free on 116 123, day or night. More urgent help is on this page.
The practical facts for Epsom
- Where sessions happen
- A private room at Intergen House, 65-67 Western Road, Hove BN3 2JQ, or secure video.
- From Epsom by car
- About 61 minutes with clear roads (44.7 miles); longer at busy times.
- By train
- From Epsom, change at Clapham Junction for trains towards Brighton and Hove.
- Free NHS talking therapy
- Mind Matters Surrey, 0300 330 5450
- Fees
- £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90, £120 for 120. The first 15-minute call is free.
- Registration
- BACP registered member, no. 109340 (check the register); UKCP student member in advanced psychotherapy training.
Over in seconds, or going on for years
What happened may have lasted moments: a collision on the way home, a fall, or a night in the A and E at Epsom Hospital when someone you love was rushed through the doors.
It may have gone on for years, in a childhood where you learned to read every footstep, or in a relationship you've only recently left. It may be a death so sudden that grief and shock arrived together. Whatever it was, it can leave your body behaving as though the danger is still nearby. You might avoid Dorking Road altogether, or lie awake in a perfectly quiet house in Horton with your heart going hard. You might feel very little at all, which can be its own kind of worry. You might be a UCA student carrying something from before you arrived that you've told no one here. These reactions are your mind's attempt to protect you, and they aren't a sign that you're weak.
Going no faster than you choose
Trauma counselling with me starts with steadiness rather than the story. In the first weeks we work out how your body signals that it's under threat, perhaps a tight throat or the need to get out, and what helps bring you back into the room you're actually in. The topics and the timing are yours to choose, and declining a question never needs a reason. When you feel ready, we can come closer to what happened, in small steps. Brainspotting, one of the approaches I use, can let us work with what the body holds without you narrating it, so the details can stay private. We also look with respect at the habits that kept you going, being on guard or staying busy, and ease them only as far as feels safe. On video, we keep the last part of each session for settling and agree what you'll do next, whether that's making a cup of tea or messaging a friend. If you're already under Surrey and Borders Partnership care, we'd agree at the start how this work sits beside it.
Where the past can catch up with you here
A night that keeps replaying
A frightening few hours in the A and E at Epsom Hospital, as a patient or waiting for news, that still replays whenever you pass the building.
When shock and grief arrive together
A sudden death that still doesn't feel real. Cruse Bereavement Support has Surrey East and South West Surrey branches, and trauma work can attend to the shock as well as the loss.
Carrying it to college
Something that happened before you came to Epsom to study, at UCA or Laine Theatre Arts, kept quiet, and surfacing now that you're away from home.
When evenings are hardest
If memories crowd in after dark, adults can walk into the Epsom Safe Haven, which opens at the Brickfield Centre from 6pm to 11pm every day.
Free and low-cost support for Epsom
If someone at home is hurting, threatening or controlling you, the domestic abuse helpline further down this page is free, day or night. After rape or sexual assault, your GP or NHS 111 can tell you where specialist support is. I haven't verified a sexual violence or veterans' service in Epsom itself, so I won't guess at one. Mind Matters Surrey takes self-referrals, and Mary Frances Trust Community Connections groups in Epsom offer company between sessions.
- Free NHS talking therapyMind Matters Surrey0300 330 5450Free NHS talking therapy for anxiety, low mood and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). You can refer yourself, with no GP referral needed.
- If drinking or drug use is part of iti-access0300 222 5932Free and confidential.
For gambling, the National Gambling Helpline is free, day or night, on 0808 8020 133 (NHS gambling support).
Private counselling with me can run alongside any of these; you do not have to choose one or the other.
If someone at home is hurting, threatening or controlling you, the National Domestic Abuse Helpline is free, day or night, on 0808 2000 247.
If you have experienced rape or sexual abuse, at any time in your life, the Rape Crisis 24/7 Support Line is free on 0808 500 2222 for anyone aged 16 or over in England and Wales.
If you need urgent help now
If you need help right now, please don't wait for a session.
Locally, the Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS FT Mental Health Crisis Helpline is on 0800 915 4644. Local drop-in crisis support: Epsom Safe Haven (check opening times before you go).
What people in Epsom ask before starting
Is there a specialist trauma service I can contact in Epsom?
I haven't been able to verify one by name. If anxiety, panic or low mood followed what happened, Mind Matters Surrey accepts self-referrals on 0300 330 5450 without a GP. If the harm is coming from someone you live with, please look at the domestic abuse number on this page, which is free and open around the clock. If it was sexual violence, NHS 111 can direct you to specialist help at any hour. Private trauma counselling can run beside any of these.
Do I have to talk about what happened to start trauma counselling from Epsom?
No. On the free call, saying that something frightening happened and it hasn't settled is enough. The early sessions are about feeling steadier now, not about retelling. Later, if you choose, we can work with the memory in ways that don't require you to describe it out loud. You can decline any question, and we can pause or stop whenever you want.
I ended up in A and E at Epsom Hospital after an accident and keep reliving it. Is that trauma?
It might be. Replaying an accident, avoiding the road where it happened, sleeping badly or feeling jumpy afterwards are recognised reactions to a frightening event, and they can ease. Your GP should hear about it too, especially if it's affecting sleep or work. Counselling can then help you process the experience at a pace you control, by video from home.
How soon could I begin trauma counselling from Epsom?
We talk first on the free 15-minute call, and if going ahead feels right to both of us, I'll give you a clear date for a first video session. Pick a slot without anything demanding straight after it, because the first few sessions can be more tiring than you'd expect. We also plan how each session ends, so you're not left stirred up with nowhere to put it.
How much do sessions cost, and is the first call free?
Sessions are £80 for 60 minutes, £100 for 90 minutes and £120 for 120 minutes, the same in person in Hove or by video. The first 15-minute call is free, with no obligation to book. There is no NHS referral needed to see me privately.
Start where you feel safe, and stop when you need to
When you feel ready, a short conversation is the easiest way to see whether we are a good fit. There is no obligation.